Negative Image
by keem
Summary: Light twin, dark twin. 'relapse' revisited, with a twist.


here it comes just like a storm / bathe in it and be reborn

time to let the world know / welcome madness, say hello

like a wave we cannot see / washing over you and me

hiding here and hiding there / madness hiding everywhere

such a curiosity / here it comes to set us free

plenty life for you and me / say hello, insanity

- oingo boingo

* * *

**negative image**

Light twin, dark twin.

Looking up at Shadow was like looking into a mirror and seeing a bizarre imitation of himself. They were of the same breed, same build, even same height - but that was where the similarities ended, being only skin-deep. Sonic was a like a supernova, all white-hot and blazing and full of energy, basking everyone around him in his brilliance. Shadow was his polar opposite, a black hole who was dark and encompassing, ready to swallow his victims up. It was these stark contrasts that had caused them to clash the way they did, long after the battle between good and evil on the Ark.

It was also these un-similarities that had intially brought them together in the most unusual of ways. Because in a unusual twist of events, Sonic had discovered that he wanted Shadow with such burning intensity that it was almost unnerving. It consumed him, the heavy thrumming of desire pulsing through his veins like white-hot electricty and leaving him aching and desperate.

His blatant lust was either coming off of him in waves so powerful that the other hedgehog could pick up on it, like an almost physical thing, or Shadow had also harbored some peverse yearning for his fairer other-half. Regardless of what it ended up being they had clashed yet again, but in a very different manner Sonic had been used to. Instead of throwing punches they had been exchanging salvia, Shadow pinning down the other hedgehog as he went to straddle him. From there on out it was a blur, a smear of black, red, and blue as their limbs hopelessly intertwined.

Shadow's demeanor between the sheets was just the way it was out on the battle-field; nasty, quick, and effective. Sonic, who had never been very experienced in the finesse of carnal pleasure, having always been too busy with thrills and adventure, had largely taken backseat in this respect. He allowed Shadow teach him what role to play; he allowed the other hedgehog to completely dominate him. This suited Shadow just fine; he seemed to thrive off of it, delighting himself on getting the best of his better self.

Sometimes, when he was feeling vicious he would lay into Sonic, leaving the blue hero bruised and scratched. At first the other hedgehog had protested feebly, even tried to take preventative measures, but it was without avail. Because when Shadow set his mind on something - especially brutality - he was literally unstoppable. But after time it began to grow on Sonic, or perhaps he had always had a macoshistic streak within himself - regardless of the reason, he began to expect the punishment, enjoy it, even crave it. And that was when their rendevous took a turn for a worse - that was when a thing called 'feelings' came to play.

Because it came to be more than just desire; it was an unexplainable attraction, a need to be close to him; it was a craving that went beyond just normal, carnal desires. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Sonic always had problems with isolating himself from subject at hand - he was notorious for getting into things too far, too deep - this often accounted for the thousands of times he found himself and Robotnik butting heads. Sonic wore his heart on his sleeve, and because of it, his love and caring persona drew in everyone around him, keeping them closely-knit and secure, becoming part of him. It was this admirable character trait that had given him so many loyal devotees, friends, and sidekicks over the years - but it was also this trait that often got him in dangerous situations, allowing himself to become overwhelmed and too closely involved. The fact of the matter was that Sonic _could not just let things be_. And because of it, his interaction with Shadow between the sheets became more than just occurence, simply indulgence - it became a 'relationship'.

A relationship that was completely one-sided and entirely physical in nature. But still, Sonic could not help but fantasize about what could never be - as Shadow ravaged him he could pretend that they were partaking in some bizarre, twisted, torrid love affair. In actuality, Sonic was pretty sure this was not the case; still, for once, his bravado and cockiness seemed to have failed him completely - he was afraid, actually afraid to ask - afraid of what Shadow might reveal, or might _not_ reveal. The black hedgehog was impossible to read by demeanor alone.

It seemed so fitting that it should come to this - that the eternal optimistic, the protagonist, the fastest thing alive should shack up with his only suitable rival, the anti-villain whose loyalties would switch with the shift of the breeze, the tragic figure who was plagued with the death of a girl who had passed decades prior. It was poetic justice, almost - that light and dark should meet, clash, and eventually become one. The next logical course of action was that Sonic would get swept up in the current, and become the victim of a unrequited love. Because that was just the way things like this _worked_.

Now, however, things were becoming more complicated. Heartache was a given now, because the longer they were involved, the longer Sonic kept his silence, and the more he stewed in his own grievances. Shadow had worked his way inside of him, past his cheerful persona, breaking his defenses - Sonic had taken him in, within the protective barrier, the same way he had done with everyone else - but in doing so he had completely forgotten Shadow had once been the enemy, and now the black hedgehog had the privledge of being behind enemy lines. Being close to Shadow was like having a parasitic, destructive growth inside of him - it festered and replicated over time, becoming more and more poisonous as it invaded every crevice of his innards, leaving nothing untouched. It was an infection of the senses - Shadow was very slowly, very meticulously destroying Sonic from the inside-out.

And yet it was an addiction - despite depression and nerves, Sonic could not keep himself away from him, could not deny himself the pleasure, the need, the inexplicable _want_. Still, the dynamic was shifting as Sonic felt his feelings reach a crescendo. Soon, keeping his silence could no longer be an option. Because there was a question that was waiting on the tip of his tongue, and against better judgement, he would have to ask. The potential answer could be a destructive force, or it could be a welcome assent - either way, Sonic would have to learn soon or he would simply go mad.

"Good evening, _faker_."

Sonic felt the fur on the back of his neck bristle against the warmth of Shadow's breath. Brilliant green optics emerged from beneath dark eyelashes, turning around to see the older, malevolent hedgehog standing over his bedside. Before the cobalt hero could offer a greeting in reply Shadow's mouth was assaulting his own, hot and wet and suddenly leaving Sonic crippling with desire. Shadow's unpredictability wrecked havoc on Sonic's desire - the spontaneousness of his actions won Sonic over every single time. Still, there was a certain pattern, a certain _clockwork_ to their motions - it always began like this, this abrupt seduction in the middle of the night.

Sonic felt himself responding enthuastically to the kiss as Shadow crawled on top of him without a proper invitation. One of his hands brushed along Sonic's collarbone and up along his neck, and he shivered - he couldn't help but think that it wouldn't beyond Shadow to suddenly seize him by the throat, to try and choke the life out of him, simply for the sheer, peverse pleasure of it - the elder hedgehog was consciousless at best, and could be ruthless if he was provoked. Still, Sonic was apparently to live to see another day - Shadow reached up and brushed the side of Sonic's cheek, causing him to blink and open his eyes as their mouths drew away from one another. The carress was surprisingly gentle.

For a moment, they simply stared at one another, ruby red eyes locking with emerald green. Sonic could see the faintest trace of a smirk gracing the black animal's mouth, and then suddenly he slapped Sonic, hard, across the face.

"Hey!" the blue hedgehog cried, stung; his own hands lashed out to shove Shadow, and suddenly there were tussling, rolling across the rumpled sheets of the bed, each of them trying to gain the upper hand.

"That's right, _fight me_," Shadow whispered, as the struggle persisted; still, raw brutality and strength had never been one of Sonic's strong point, slightly more gracile and aerodynamic in stature than his onyx counterpart. Shadow had the advantage here, having weilded heavy weaponry out on the battlefeild for several months; because of it, he had a slightly sturdier build, with better upper-body strength. He overpowered Sonic shortly after the ordeal began, slapping him once again in point-blank range for good measure.

"You're a bastard," the cobalt hedgehog scowled from beneath him, still struggling vainly beneath Shadow's vice-like hold on him.

"That I am, blue," Shadow affirmed coolly, looking wicked in the faint moonlight that drifted in through the open window. "But I like to keep things interesting." His lips met again, toying with one another, and when he pulled back Sonic was flushed in the face, panting softly. This time Shadow _did_ smile, a tug at the corner of his cruel lips, slightly triangular and alien in shape. "And something tells me you might like it just a little bit, too." His eyes narrowed as his hands released Sonic's lips, traveling over the flat of Sonic's smooth stomach and seizing him by the hips. With surprising ease for someone who probably scarcely weighed ten more pounds than his partner, he flipped the other hedgehog over onto his stomach.

"I like it when you submit," Shadow murmured hotly into Sonic's ear, which twitched. "But I like it even better when you're broken."

Sonic wasn't exactly sure he liked the sound of _that_.

* * *

At last, the moment of truth.

It had all ended in a flash of fire and now the only two occupants of the room lay on the bed, spent. Sonic's chest was heaving with the effort of his labored breathing; Shadow, on the other hand, seemed almost unnaturally still beside him. Sonic's heart was racing, but it had nothing to do with the recent recreational activity. There was one last thing to take care of.

"Why me?" he asked.

The room remained silent, and for a moment, Sonic wondered if Shadow had even heard him. Then the onyx-furred hedgehog rolled onto one hip, so that he was facing away from Sonic, and he knew that he had. There was a pregant pause in which Sonic's eyebrows furrowed and he chewed on his lower lip, halfway through articulating an apology, although he wasn't exactly sure what for--

"You are my anti-thesis," he said finally, his voice barely audible in the darkness of the room. "But for a while I thought it was the opposite: I referred to you as my doppleganger, my copy, a poor replication of my persona. But you are so unique in your familiarity - so unlike me in every respect. My negative image. The more I think about it, the more I wonder: Are you my shadow? Or am I your's? I want to pick at your brain, to break you down, to tear you apart. In being you, in destroying you, perhaps I could find the answer."

Sonic always had difficulty deciphering an understandable meaning in typical Shadow psycho-bullshit talk. This was no different. But perhaps he could implore the anatonist to simplify things by asking a question that one meritted a one-word answer. "Shadow," he said quietly, suddenly terrified of what the other hedgehog might say. "Do you love me?"

Shadow seemed to consider this. "I don't _hate _you," was all he said in reply. There was a rustle of sheets as the elder creature sat up, pulling on his shoes and with a faint _fwoosh_, skating out the door without so much as a good-bye. This was typical afterglow behavior; after the high had been achieved and the two participants were left to float back down to reality, the other hedgehog had a tendency to make himself scarce. And Sonic - having left with a lot to contemplate, analyzing what was left unsaid - decided that perhaps Shadow's answer wasn't exactly a 'no', once he really thought about it.

* * *

i've love to take you home with me and tuck you into bed

i'd love to see what makes you tick inside your pretty head

i wish that i could keep you in a precious chinese box

on sundays i would pray for you so it would never stop

i'd love to hear you laugh tonight, i'd love to hear you weep

i'd love to listen to you while you're screaming in your sleep

i'd love to soothe you with my voice and take your hand in mine

i'd love to take you past the stars and out the reach of time

i'd love to see inside your mind, to tear it all apart

to cut you open with a knife and find your sacred heart

i'd love to take your satin dolls and tear them all to shreds

i'd love to miss your pretty hair, i'd love to see you dead


End file.
